


As You Were

by icywind



Series: Winterhawk Week 2017 [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Amputee Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Deaf Clint Barton, Everyone should just hug man, Fluff, M/M, Rumlow is an ass but it's mostly a plot device, There is some angst but it is mostly, War Veteran Bucky Barnes, War Veteran Clint Barton
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12182604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icywind/pseuds/icywind
Summary: It's just another day for Bucky at Liquid Energy - slinging coffee, serving up pastries, dealing with his coworkers - and then a new customer walks in...Day 1 Winterhawk Week (Oldies but Goodies) - Disibilities





	As You Were

**Author's Note:**

> Text in _italics is signed_ (sometimes it is also spoken in addition to being signed - it should be noted in the dialog tags.)

 

 

 

Bucky glanced up when he noticed movement at the door. A man in a hoodie, posture slouched and pulled into himself, stepped inside and carefully let the door shut behind him. They were a few blocks away from the VA hospital so the posture and the actions were more than familiar. He caught only the barest of the glances at his features, pleasant looking if unremarkable, before returning his full attention to the machine in front of him – the Nuova Simonelli Aurelia was a good machine, but she could get feisty if she sensed you weren't focused on her.

He heard Brock mumbling to himself but paid no attention to it, Brock was pretty much always at least a little bitchy at best. He'd only recently starting working at Liquid Energy, his therapist suggesting it would be good for him, surrounded by his fellow servicemen who would roll with his mood swings and help him adjust back to civilian life. Liquid Energy employed mostly former servicemen, helping them learn new skills or just simply giving them a place that eased the transition to non duty life.

“Jesus Christ.” Brock muttered more loudly, loudly enough that he clearly meant for the customer to hear. Bucky poured the milk to finish off the latte, the leaf a little sloppy but still appreciated by the nurse who'd ordered it, and walked over to the register just in time to hear Brock say, “Read the damn sign – no fucking phones allowed,” to the customer.

Hoodie-man glanced up from his phone, which he was now holding out towards Brock, with a – well, frustrated look on his face. Frustration which was swiftly becoming genuine distress, when Brock scoffed and make to take a swipe at the phone while muttering some curse words. 

“Take a break, Rumlow.” Bucky said as he grabbed his hand before he could touch Hoodie-man's phone.

“I don't need a fucking break. This guy needs to learn to fucking read.”

“Take. A. Walk.” Bucky pressed the stump of his left arm hard into Rumlow's back, instantly making him stiffen, back straight and eyes glaring. Some people were a little weirded out when Bucky touched them with his left arm and he made a point of avoiding it when he could out of politeness. But that didn't mean he wouldn't use it to make a point. “Go into the back.” He said and Rumlow complied with a huff. 

_“Sorry,”_ Bucky said to Hoodie-man, making a clumsy attempt at signing as well, though he didn't seem to notice. _“May I?”_ he held his hand out palm up, like you would with a skittish animal and the guy looked at him, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes and mouth working like he wanted to talk but couldn't. Bucky gave him his most reassuring smile, held up a finger, then grabbed a cup tapping at coffee and sugar and syrup and getting a shake of head from the man before he stepped back to fill it with a dark roast. Popping a lid on the cup, he offered it to Hoodie-man, tapped at where he'd scribbled “free” on it and watched as he gave a brief nod and all but ran back out the door, everything about his body language screaming ashamed and scared.

“The fuck dude?” Brock growled at him when Bucky slipped into the back with him once Clay returned from his break.

“He was deaf, Rumlow. He was trying to type up what he wanted on his phone.”

“Well.” Rumlow huffed, all bluster. “How was I supposed to know that?”

“Well nothing. Remember, patience is important. Look for the context clues. You could see the bandages under his hood if you had bothered to look. Which you didn't.”

Rumlow nodded and made a grudging apology and Bucky made a mental note to mention to their boss Nick that maybe Brock needed one less shift in the front and one more shift in the bakery each week, give him a little more time getting his temper out on the dough before working on his people skills.

 

~~

 

Bucky had mostly put the incident out of his mind until about a week later when Hoodie-man came in again. He shifted from foot to foot with nervous energy, even though it was Clay at the register and Rumlow was nowhere in sight. Bucky switched out with Clay just before Hoodie-man got to the front of the line. 

“Hi,” Bucky smiled at Hoodie-man, whose eyes widened a little in recognition. Hoodie-man, held up a notepad and pen, along with his index finger and he jotted down a note. Bucky waited patiently until he finished and spun it around for Bucky to read.

“Black coffee, please.” Was written at the top, his initial order, probably down even before he'd been up to the register. Below it he'd added. “Sorry about last time, thanx for the free coffee tho. Did I get the other man in trouble?”

“How're you at reading lips?” Bucky asked when he raised his gaze up. Hoodie-man waved his hand in a 'so-so' motion and Bucky nodded, grabbing a pen from beside the register and nodding to the notebook. “May I?” Hoodie-man nodded.

“Brock is just getting more bakery time – not ready for people yet – not your fault.” Hoodie-man studied Bucky's face for a moment after reading the reply, like he was trying to read the truth in the words. He must have saw something he liked cause he nodded again. _“And you're welcome. For the coffee.”_ Bucky said and signed. Hoodie-man gave a tiny tiny smile at that and gestured for the pad.

“I dunno sign much yet.”

“You'll learn,” Bucky wrote. “I don't know much myself and it's hard with lefty here,” he obligingly raised his stump when Hoodie-man looked up. “But the greetings and please and thank you are easy. And I figured coffee was an important one considering.” He nodded to the coffee shop in general and Hoodie-man's smile grew a little larger. “But hey – we can Nick Andros things too – whatever works for you.”

Hoodie-man's eyebrows raised and his face went quizzical.

“Nick Andros is a character in Stephen King's The Stand. He's Deaf and Mute and since no one knows sign he writes notes all the time.” Bucky wrote. Hoodie-man's mouth made a little 'o' and he nodded in understanding before pulling the notepad back.

“Can u show me coffee again?” 

Bucky grinned and obliged, signed the word once more and nodding encouragement when Hoodie-man copied him perfectly, giving a thumbs up before grabbing him a cup of the dark roast again.

Hoodie-man paid for his cup, signed _"thank you,"_ and backed away with a smile, retreating to the front of the cafe to take a seat at the window.

“Friend of yours?” Clay asked as he nudged against Bucky to reclaim his place at the register.

“I don't even know his name,” Bucky replied, gaze lingering on Hoodie-man for another moment before he returned to sorting their collection of tea.

 

~~

 

 _“Coffee, please and thank you.”_ Hoodie-man signed upon his return three days later. Bucky winked and gave him an 'okay' sign as he grabbed the usual dark roast. Hoodie-man slid the notepad across along with his money. “My name is Clint by the way – in case you need something to write on my cup.”

 _“Pleased to meet you, Clint.”_ Bucky replied, carefully finger-spelling the name. “You checked out The Stand yet?” he wrote on the notepad. Clint pulled the book out of the pocket of today's hoodie. _“Enjoy.”_ Bucky winked as Clint backed away and went to the window again.

 

~~

 

Clint thumped his copy of The Stand on the counter the following day, bookmark sticking out a decent chunk of the way into the book. His eyes were huge as they met Bucky's, his expression gobsmacked.

“Yeah?”

Clint brought a hand up to his head and made a 'mind – blown' gesture.

“I know, right?” “Bucky grinned.

 

~~

 

“Hey, so, I could use some help brushing up on my sign – you wanna maybe talk about the book while I'm on break?” Bucky wrote two days later when Clint came in again, looking like he was about half-way through the book. He nodded in what Bucky would optimistically call an eager manner – probably a mixture of wanting to talk about the book with someone and also being eager to work on his own signing skills.

And that was how Bucky ended up spending two lunches a week talking about books with Clint. 

Clay and Jasper teased him about it constantly. It didn't even help that by that point Clint was actually coming in five days a week, not all of which were days Bucky worked. 'He's always super disappointed when you're not here' – they insisted, though Bucky didn't believe a word of it. They gossiped worse than two little old ladies. 

Sharon, being the intelligent level headed lady she was, cautioned restraint on his part, which Bucky found confusing. Sure, he might have a tiny bit of a crush on Clint but that didn't mean anything. He was witty and kind and Bucky wondered how he had ever thought Clint's features were unremarkable because now that he'd seen him smile? Well, Clint smiling was just about one of the best things in the world.

Okay, maybe it was more than a tiny bit of a crush. But it still didn't mean anything.

 

~~

 

Clint seemed nervous when Bucky sat down across from him with a muffin and a cup of coffee, a copy of American Gods sitting beside him. He offered Clint the muffin top which he declined before fidgeting with his coffee cup.

 _“What's up?”_ Bucky popped a bit of the muffin in his mouth and Clint raised an eyebrow at him. _“You seem nervous.”_

Clint pulled out his notepad and pen again, a sure sign that he was legitimately nervous if he didn't want to try and take the time and focus to sign first. “They're going to do some testing tomorrow to see if I am a good candidate for hearing aids.”

 _“That's wonderful!”_ Bucky beamed at Clint.

“If it's a thing that happens.” Was Clint's reply and Bucky did his best to keep his face neutral-supportive. He knew how enticing the lure must be for Clint, to be able to get a piece of himself back like that. He was doing well with his ASL from the conversations he and Bucky shared but being able to hear again, though not like it had been before, was clearly something Clint wanted. 

Bucky knew a little bit about that. The hopeful lure that there was more of a “fix” rather than just adaptation – and he knew how devastating it was when that hope fell through, having been turned down for a program for an experimental new cybernetic arm after he'd gone through the preliminary testing.

Most days now he was okay with his new normal, he'd had time to adjust that Clint clearly hadn't yet, but there was always a part of him that would wonder what it would be like to have a fully functional left arm again. Just like there was probably always going to be a part of Clint that wondered what it would be like to be able to hear again.

“I hope it goes well for you and I'll be here if you need someone – either way.” Bucky wrote, offering a hopeful smile along with the note, his crush pushed to the back of his mind because he also liked Clint as a person, and he liked to think they might be something like friends even though they were customer and barista first, and he just wanted him to be happy.

 

~~

 

“What would you say is your best cure-all for a bad day?” A stunning redhead asked Bucky the following day. 

“Depends on whether or not you like chocolate.” He replied. It was an hour past the time he'd been expecting Clint to come in and he was trying not to think about what that might have meant for the prognosis of his appointment.

“It's for someone else.” She elaborated. “And he loves chocolate only slightly less than he loves coffee.”

“In that case, I'd say maybe try the coffee chocolate chip scones or the mocha cupcake. They're new to the menu but they're pretty good.” They'd actually been his suggestion – he'd been bugging Nick about trying something new for weeks. And if it just so happened that the new things were items he was really hoping Clint would like, well, that was just a coincidence.

“How about one of each then? I'm thinking he'll go for the cupcake and I can get the scone but – either way.” She shrugged a delicate shoulder. “Two large dark roasts to go with as well, please.”

“Coming right up,” Bucky replied, grabbing the two cups and nodding to Jasper to take care of the baked goods. He nodded his thanks for the tip she left after paying and swapped places at the espresso machine with Jasper as she made her way out the door. 

And it was that swap out of position that allowed Bucky to see that the person the redhead was picking up coffee and a snack for, was Clint. Bucky felt his stomach sink and he wasn't sure if it was the fact that Clint looked sad, posture defeated like it had been when Bucky'd first seen him, as Redhead offered him the cupcake; or if it was because of how Redhead kissed his cheek and linked arms with him as they walked away.

Of course, it could also be because of the fact that Clint hadn't wanted to even come inside and tell Bucky that he had a girlfriend and that (maybe) Bucky had pushed too far the previous day and made him feel too uncomfortable to even try.

 

~~

 

A week passed with no sign of Clint or his stunner of a girlfriend and Bucky was feeling like an ass more and more with each passing day. Finally, ten days after the first time he saw her, the Redhead came back in. She ordered two coffees and another of the scones and Bucky nearly bit through his tongue in an effort to stop himself from asking how Clint was. That wasn't his place though. He had no right to Clint's business.

“Hey – did the cupcake not work out?” Jasper asked as he handed over the bag with the scone. 

“Oh it was well received, thank you for the suggestion,” she said, nodding to Bucky with that. “We're just watching calories.”

“I hear you,” Jasper grinned, socking Bucky lightly in the arm before vanishing into the back as Clay returned from his break.

“Well – I hope your friend is having a better day,” Bucky couldn't help but say as Redhead turned to leave. Her replying smile was enigmatic as hell and Bucky resolutely did not watch her exit the shop. He didn't want to see if Clint was outside again, unable to come in because of Bucky and his stupid feelings.

 

~~

 

And then Bucky's luck got even worse when a string of cool rainy weather had his body reacting with horrible pain that saw him missing three days of work. The sore ankle wasn't the worst, and the migraine he could mostly deal with, but the fact that his arm that was no longer there hurt always pushed him over the edge. 

Between that and the fact that he only had one day on before he was back to having his normal two days off again, another week had passed like nothing since Redhead had been in to get coffee for Clint. Making it almost three weeks since he'd seen and spoken to Clint. 

Well. Okay. He could take a hint. He'd read more into things than he should have. At least he hadn't gone the extra mile and actually asked Clint out at all. That would've felt worse.

“I'm going to take my lunch before the afternoon rush,” Bucky informed Clay. “Let me know if you need anything though – I can grab and extra five once Jasper gets here.”

“Sounds good but uh,” Bucky paused in the doorway to the back as Clay spoke. “Wanna help with one more customer maybe?” Bucky turned around full and saw Redhead walk towards a table near the front window – the one that Clint used to sit at when he'd been stopping by more regularly. And there, standing at the register just beyond an inexplicably hopeful looking Clay, was Clint himself. 

Clint raised his hand, expression sheepish, as he waved to Bucky, who stood in the doorway another moment before slowly returning to the register.

“Hey,” Bucky smiled in spite of himself. It was hard not to when he saw Clint, especially when it had been so long. _“How've you been?”_

Clint shrugged and waved his hand in a 'so-so' manner. _“Life's been a little – everything.”_

_“I guessed so – haven't seen you in a while.”_

_“Yeah – I know. Long story?”_ Clint looked like he wanted to say more but he didn't. No elaboration, no offer of it in the future either. _“What about you?”_

Bucky replied with his own 'so-so' and a shrug. _“Last week sucked, this week isn't bad so far.”_

 _“The rain?”_ Clint asked, which surprised Bucky because, well, sure he'd mentioned he didn't do the best with the cold and the damp sometimes but he hadn't really expected Clint to remember that. Not with the vanishing act and using his girlfriend as a go between anyway. Some of his surprise must have shown in his face because Clint looked sheepish as well as apologetic as he offered a _“sorry”_ to Bucky's nod.

A few more people entered the store and Bucky didn't want to be a jerk, especially not to Clint, but if he didn't get a move on they'd end up getting behind and so, with a nod to the line that was forming, he asked, _“Can I get you and your-”_ he meant to sign girlfriend but he forgot the sign for a moment and Clint was quick to reply.

 _“Nat. That's Nat and two of my usual.”_ Clint replied.

“Coming right up.” Bucky said out loud, for the benefit of the others in line. _“It's nice to see you again,”_ he couldn't help but add as he accepted the money from Clint while Clint grabbed the dark roasts. 

“You too.” And with that Clint went off to his table and Bucky retreated to the back for a short break, no longer hungry enough to eat his sandwich, but needing the space to lick his wounds.

Clint and Nat stuck around through the afternoon rush. Bucky didn't want to know that, but he couldn't help but glance over every once in a while. They seemed to be involved in a very deep conversation at one point, a mixture of sign and their own expressions or short hand with a little writing thrown in for good measure. And of course he caught each of them once during his brief glances over, though he was unable to read their expressions at all, turning away too quickly to avoid additional embarrassment for himself. 

Bucky was wiping down the espresso machine when a voice he'd never heard sounded from the other side of it. “Nat says I'm an idiot.”

“I'm sorry – are you talking to-” the 'me' never made it out of his mouth as he stepped to the side and saw Clint standing there. 

“Yeah. I can talk. I just – it makes me nervous. That I sound even stupider, wait – even more stupid - than I am or or too loud-”

“Taking a fifteen,” Bucky called over his shoulder at Jasper and Clay as he stepped out from behind the coffee bar to stand next to Clint. _“You're not – Who told – Why do you think you're stupid?”_

“So many reasons,” Clint said with a self deprecating eye roll. 

_“I don't agree.”_ Bucky said. _“I think you're smart and amazing and I love talking to you. I miss talking to you.”_ And the way Clint smiled at that, all shy and sweet, made his heart stir.

“I miss you too.” Clint offered.

“Then why?” If Clint had liked talking to him and hanging out why had he stopped coming in?

“I guess-” Clint sighed. “When they said they'd need to test me again and that _I wasn't a good candidate at the moment I guess I was just-”_ He wrung his hands together, he'd started signing in addition to talking, about half-way through the sentence. _“I didn't want to have you lose interest. And I didn't-”_

_“Wait – lose interest?”_

_“Nat called me an idiot because she pegged you as being into me when she saw me talking to you from outside the window.”_

_“She wasn't wrong about that,”_ Bucky said, the corner of his lips curling into one of his more flirty smiles.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Bucky nodded, reaching out to touch one of Clint's hands briefly. “This is maybe a little quick and I should be writing this or signing or something but may I?” And he telegraphed his moves very deliberately, tilting his head and beginning to lean in only for Clint to nearly bowl him over as he surged into a kiss that began as a hard press of lips and ended up with the two of them panting air as they stood pressed together and leaning up against the wall.

“Wow,” Clint puffed against Bucky's lips. 

“You can say that again,” Bucky replied, knowing Clint probably didn't catch all of it, but trusting that it showed in his expression.

“Pay up Dude,” Bucky heard Jasper say to Clay in the background and he didn't even want to know what the details of the bet had been but damn if they didn't owe him something for betting on his life.

Redhead – Nat – slipped past the two of them on her way out the side door, pressing a note into Clint's hands that read “use your words,” and smiling when he flipped her off.

 _“So uh – can I get you a cup of coffee maybe sometime?”_ Clint asked, tucking a strand of hair behind Bucky's ear.

 _“I happen to know a great place.”_ Bucky replied, grinning into their next kiss.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> The concept of a bakery cafe that helps Vets adjust to non military life and/or learn new skills is based a tiny bit on Dryhootch a cafe/Org local to my city (Milwaukee) and Dog Tag Inc (and Bakery) in Georgetown. From what I know of both of them, they do some good work helping people, which is something we need more of in the world. 
> 
> I had wanted this initially to have a little more H/C but it is what it is. 
> 
> You can follow me at [redsector-a](http://redsector-a.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.


End file.
